Mastering YouTube Marketing: How to Launch and Grow Your Channel in 2024

If you haven’t mastered video marketing yet, now is the right time, and YouTube is the perfect place. It’s not just the most popular video platform with over 2 billion monthly users, but also an excellent channel for business promotion. Think of it: 70% of viewers purchased after seeing a brand on YouTube.

Given these impressive statistics and the fact that video content is constantly gaining momentum, we encourage you to explore the power of YouTube. Keep reading to learn how to start and grow your channel to reach marketing goals.

What you will find in this article:

8 steps for crafting a successful YouTube strategy

#1. Determine your channel’s purpose

Before you dive into launching your own YouTube channel, it’s crucial to define your expectations and final purpose. Although the actual creation of the channel takes only a few minutes, you need to invest a lot of time and effort to make it visible and appealing to the audience. That’s why it’s better to decide from the start whether the game is worth it.

Having a YouTube channel offers brands a number of opportunities, including:

better brand exposure
generating leads
driving traffic
building a strong reputation
engaging potential customers and more.

To establish a straightforward and, most importantly, realistic process for achieving targets, we recommend using the SMART framework. This means your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. In the context of growing your YouTube channel, a SMART goal might look like this: “We have to get 1000 subscribers in three months.”

Want to learn the basics of setting clear targets? Explore our guide “How to Write SMART Goals: Rules and Examples.”

#2. Do research and pick a niche

With more than 113.9 million active channels on YouTube, it’s hard to imagine a topic that isn’t featured on the platform. To determine the central theme and approach to delivering content, rely on your expertise and conduct some research. It will help you understand how much competition there is in your category and what you can do differently to stand out.

Let’s say you own a design agency. Instead of covering general design topics and trying to reach an audience that is too large, you can focus on a target group interested in creating projects in Figma. Another proven approach is to stick to popular trends. Today, the theme of artificial intelligence is trending, and you can find your niche in it by covering AI tools for design and how to work with them.

If you are into innovative solutions that can simplify your creative process, try our free Image and Video Background Removers as well as Image Upscaler.

#3. Understand who you’re launching a channel for

It’s crucial to get a sense of YouTube’s audience. According to demographic stats, the platform is dominated by men (54.4% vs 45.6% of women), and the largest group of users is aged 25 to 34. Of course, this doesn’t mean other generations aren’t active on YouTube. Still, there are obviously more relevant channels for reaching them—such as print materials or email marketing if you want to engage seniors.

Considering the general demographics of YouTube users and your target audience data, think about the segment you want to reach with your future channel. If it doesn’t include your age group, learn more about the context in which the relevant generation grew up in, as well as their interests and behavior. This strategy will help you understand how to communicate with the right users and offer them a more personalized experience.

Want to find more valuable insights about your target audience? Try creating buyer personas to take your communication to the next level.

#4. Think about video ideas

Once you have a better picture of your audience, it’s time to move on to the idea generation stage. Consider what you have to offer YouTube users. We are talking about a specific value your content will provide, from practical utility to entertainment. Take the previously mentioned example of a design agency: you can give your audience handy tips on creating various types of visuals such as posters or presentations, explain popular styles like Bento UI, or share the latest trends or a list of design contests to enter.

Use SEO to make sure the chosen topics will attract users. Keyword research tools such as Semrush or Ahrefs will help you find high-demand queries, which increases the chances your videos will be viewed. Another excellent source of content ideas is Google Trends, which shows keywords growing in popularity. And, of course, you can find inspiration by checking the YouTube Trending section with videos and Shorts appealing to a wide range of users.

#5. Plan your content strategy

Today, people are constantly seeking new experiences, and this statement is especially true in the light of content selection. To keep your audience interested and engaged, offer diversity not only in topics, but also in ways of presenting information. You can combine different video types, such as:

educational videos–to explain various themes and inform viewers (for instance, about the newest trends);
video tutorials or how-to videos–to help the audience master practical skills (an example–WordPress tutorial);
reviews–to share opinions on a particular product or service (an example–comparing Squarespace vs Wix);
listicle videos–to provide information in a handy list form (for instance, 10 ChatGPT life hacks).

These are just a few types of videos you can benefit from. Over time, you’ll see which ones resonate with your audience; then, adapt your content strategy accordingly. The editorial plan is an essential tool for managing content production. It allows you to clearly plan your work by scheduling the posting of videos on specific topics. Try to be realistic about your capabilities, and don’t set unreachable goals. Start with 1–3 videos per week, depending on chosen types and your resources. Keep in mind that consistency is the key.

Remember that you probably already have a lot of content that can be adapted for your YouTube channel. To learn how to save time on production, read our guide “Get More from Your Content: 7 Strategies for Content Repurposing.”

#6. Create high-quality and engaging videos

The success of your channel directly depends on the quality of content you share with your audience. To appeal to subscribers, make sure your videos meet the following criteria:

Utility. Your content should provide value, whether it is knowledge, inspiration, entertainment, etc.
Clarity. Make sure that the information you share is clear and easy to understand.
Structuring. Stick to the introduction–central part–CTA–outro scheme, and write a detailed video script to make the content user-friendly.
Diversity. Offer your audience a variety of topics and types of videos, as well as Shorts, live streams, and collaborations.
High-quality. It’s crucial that your videos look and sound professional to attract audiences and gain their trust, so prioritize both production and editing.

Enhance your creative process with ready-to-use files from the Depositphotos library. With our content, you can easily create eye-catching YouTube channel covers, intros and outros, thumbnails, and more. Choose trendy images, captivating footage, ambient music, and sound effects to make your channel stand out.

Explore Depositphotos Library

#7. Optimize your content for search

YouTube SEO is a must for any successful YouTube strategy. Optimized videos are more likely to attract the right audience, which increases the number of views, engagement, and visibility of a channel. Make sure you use relevant keywords in video titles, descriptions, and tags to help users quickly find your content. Try to make your titles short, appealing, and to the point, clearly informing what your videos are about. Remember to add links to your website or blog in the description to drive more traffic. You can also use affiliate links to get additional income.

We recommend paying special attention to video thumbnails. You want to make them captivating and compelling since they play a significant role when it comes to first impressions. Simply put, thumbnails determine whether a user will click on your video. To make it so, use high-quality images, appealing text, and bright colors that match your brand identity.

#8. Track performance and adapt your strategy

Once you start posting videos, you’ll get access to YouTube analytics and be able to monitor performance. The platform shows metrics for both the channel and individual videos. Here are some of them:

impressions–how many times your thumbnails were shown to viewers
CTR–how often viewers watched a video after seeing a thumbnail
watch time–the total amount of minutes viewers have spent watching your videos
average percentage viewed–percent of each video the average viewer watched
average view duration–the average amount of time viewers spend watching a video
traffic sources–platforms or methods through which viewers find and watch your videos.

You will also find other valuable insights on audience demographics and engagement in the analytics. Make it a regular practice to review the effectiveness of your content and adjust your strategy. A data-driven approach like this ensures that your channel is constantly evolving.

Top examples of brand YouTube channels for your inspiration

#1. Google

On YouTube, Google combines informative content with entertainment. You will find explainer videos about the company’s recent Gemini AI release, a series titled “25 Years in Search” with the most popular queries from the search engine, Google I/O 2023 keynote announcements, handy Shorts, how-tos, and reviews.

#2. LEGO

The LEGO channel is a YouTube leader for a reason, as the brand has a very well-thought-out video strategy. It offers high-quality, versatile, and engaging content. Here, you can discover the LEGO Friends show, exciting collaborations with brands like Disney and Lamborghini, challenges, tips, and more.

#3. GoPro

This channel embodies top-notch content that attracts attention and makes a strong impression at first glance. It presents a wide range of topics, from stunning locations and animals to spectacular sports and travel, which helps engage different audiences. The brand also provides practical tips, launch videos, a “Beyond Limits” series with professional mountain biker Jackson Goldstone, and stunning 5K footage. It is worth noting how skillfully the company leverages UGC.

Final thoughts

Although launching your own YouTube channel may seem like a challenge, with a well-defined strategy, you can easily succeed. Follow the steps from our article to make the most of your promotion on the platform. But be aware that it might take months before you see results. Usually, a subscriber base grows slowly at the beginning, but gradually, this process becomes increasingly rapid. So, keep posting engaging and relevant content regularly and watch your audience expand.